Persistence
by Zetta
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a boy who liked a girl. He asked her out. She said no. He asked her again. And again. And again. And again... LJ ficlet, short and sweet.


Persistence

By Zetta  
Disclaimer: Not mine, they're all JKR's. I'm just borrowing them for a bit to torture and humiliate them. :o)  
Genre: Humor/Romance  
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a boy who liked a girl. He asked her out. She said no. He asked her again. And again. And again. And again... L/J ficlet, short and sweet.  
Rating: PG, because there's nothing too icky about it.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who liked a girl. Like all young boys, he was an idiot, not yet grown into a mature man that could handle rejection and the other woes of life.

The girl, of course, was much more mature than he and everyone knew it.

But he still had a crush on her.

One day, his friends persuaded him to ask her out, and he did.

She said no.

But he did it again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And continued to ask her so many times that she would run when she saw him coming, and do everything she could to avoid him.

Yet somehow, when their story ended, they were both happily in love.

This is their story.

*****

"Wannagooutwithme?" he asked in a big rush.

Peter, Remus, and Sirius were across the hall, talking and waiting for him.

Lily shifted, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry, but I'm sort of interested in someone else." She looked apologetic too- that would be something she would regret in the future.

James shifted too. "Oh. All right. See you around."

He walked over to his friends and didn't need to tell them the glum news. They could tell from just a glance at him.

"Sorry, chum," said Sirius.

Peter and Remus just looked sympathetic. "Are you going to give up now?" Remus asked.

James gave him a scornful look, clearly trying to hide the hurt he felt. "Of course not. She's only interested in the other guy, not going out with him. I'll ask her again tomorrow. She'll have changed her mind by then."

"Tomorrow?" Remus said dubiously.

Sirius looked very amused.

Peter was grinning, though from the uncertain way he looked between James and the other two, it was clear he didn't quite understand the joke.

James nodded confidently. "I'm sure she'll say yes tomorrow." He then glanced up the hall. "I'll see you later. I have to talk to Cappy about practice tomorrow." He ran and caught up with the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

"Why did you encourage him?" Remus asked Sirius when James had gone.

Sirius grinned even more. "Because now we'll have something to laugh at him about for the next three years of our lives."

Remus snorted. "I have a feeling it'll seem like that long... Do you think she'll give in?"

"Nope. Do you think James will?"

"At tops, I give him a month of her saying no," Remus said. "Then he'll give up on her."

Sirius shook his head. "It'll be longer than that. A year. And that's if she doesn't-"

"Kill him first," Remus finished, and they both grinned. "Shall we make a bet of it?"

Sirius agreed. "Any time next year he'll give up. Or she'll say yes, but that's less likely."

Remus shook his head. "Any time before sixth year starts. Peter, you in?"

"Er..."

"You can take seventh year," Sirius said.

"Okay," Peter agreed before Remus could try to talk him out of making such a foolish bet.

"How much then?" Remus asked.

"Ten Galleons," Sirius said. "No, make it twenty."

"Ten is more than enough," said Remus.

"But I need forty to get the new Cleansweep," Sirius argued.

"Then what are you doing betting against me?"

They walked away, none of them quite able to imagine what the next three years would be like.

*****

The following day, James sat next to Lily at breakfast. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

She gave him a puzzled look. "I'm sorry, James, but didn't I tell you yesterday? That there was someone else I'm interested in?"

He shrugged. "Had to check." He stood and rejoined his friends.

*****

"Wanna go out to the lake?"

Lily frowned. "I'm still interested in someone else."

James shrugged and walked away.

*****

"Hey, Lily-"

"No."

James walked away again.

*****

"Are you going to do this every day until I say yes?" she asked, irritated.

"Probably."

"Well get over it. I'm not going to say yes. I am not interested in you, and I have no desire to go out with you. Don't ask me again."

He smiled. "See you tomorrow."

*****

James was in the hospital wing a few days later, so Lily thought she was safe.

She sat at a desk in the library.

Remus showed up. "Hi, Lily."

"Hello, Remus."

"Will you go out with James?"

She stared at him. Then scowled.

"I'll take that as a no."

He walked away.

*****

Weeks passed.

Every day, James asked her to go out with him.

Every day, she said no.

And every day, he managed to piss her off just a little bit more... It wasn't amusing, contrary to the beliefs of her friends. It was annoying to have a boy pestering you daily to go out with him.

And he always did it with such assurance, as though he knew that she would give in one day.

It was driving her mad.

So were the other things he did.

Now that he was paying so much attention to her, she started paying attention to him, noticing all of the things about him that were obnoxious.

The hair thing was the worst. It didn't look cool, it looked annoying.

Yes, she discovered. Hair could be annoying.

And the way he walked around the school, like he thought he owned it or something.

And the way he grinned when someone was talking about Quidditch. And always managed to bring the subject around to himself.

And the way he picked on Severus Snape, and some of the shy kids in their class and younger years, and even sometimes the older years.

He could have gotten away with murder.

She wanted to punch him.

*****

It was sixth year.

The boys were sitting up in their room, laying on their beds and munching on sweets while they chatted.

"She's never going to go out with you," Sirius said cheerfully. "She hates you."

James snorted. "She thinks she hates me. She admires my persistence."

"She hates you," the other three said together.

James rolled his eyes. "She'll go out with me before I leave the school."

"Even if he has to stay here a few extra years," Sirius added in a mock whisper to the other two.

James threw a pillow at him.

*****

The summer between sixth and seventh year, a lot of things changed. We won't get into details, because I'm sure you can imagine that some of the changes involved James's maturity, and some of the changes involved the world beyond James. (Yes, he discovered that there was life that didn't involve him. You-Know-Who, a minor recession in the economy, and other things like that.)

But James grew up a little and returned to Hogwarts for his seventh year, a little bit less of a prat that he'd been the years before.

Oh, and he was also Head Boy, and his parents had suggested he behave for a year and not sully the good name of the Head Boy... And they'd pay him well for it, too.

He spent a lot of time thinking about life that summer, and decided to change a few things about the way he operated.

And so the first day back to school, he did _not_ ask Lily Evans out.

*****

"Hide me! He's coming!"

The girls squeaked and looked at each other, trying to hide Lily, the Head Girl.

But James and his friends walked right by, nodding slightly in greeting.

The girls all stared after them. 

"He didn't ask you out," said one. "Is he over you?"

"I hope so," Lily declared vehemently.

*****

The girls formed a barrier between Lily and James.

James gave them a weird look. "Um. Okay. Lily, when's the next meeting? Remus and I wrote down different dates."

She was frowning when she answered. "Monday morning. At eight."

"Okay." He started to walk away, then turned around. "Oh, and Lily!"

She tensed. Here it comes, she thought.

"Thanks."

He walked away.

Lily stared after him. "I think he's over me."

She could not explain the disappointment she felt.

*****

They were sitting in the Prefect room after the meeting, working on Prefect-Stuff.

She had to ask. "You haven't asked me out all this year."

He didn't look up. "I know."

She stared at the paper in front of her. "Why?"

He did look up, his face perfectly blank. "I thought you found me annoying?"

She flushed. "I do. You are. But I was just wondering..."

He went back to work.

She frowned.

He still hadn't answered her.

*****

Somehow, she found herself sitting in the stand watching Quidditch practice with some of her friends.

She knew that he knew she was there- she'd seen him look up earlier.

But when practice was over, he just walked back to the school, not even looking at her.

*****

She went to more Quidditch practices. 

She cheered at the games.

She spent more time with Remus, who was a mutual friend.

She sat near him in the library- but not too near because she didn't want him to think she liked him or anything.

She flirted with him when she talked with him.

And the stupid boy wouldn't ask her out.

*****

"He doesn't like me any more," Lily said, painting her nails, a pout on her face.

"That's good, isn't it?" one of her friends asked. "He's annoying and a prat."

"He _was_ annoying and a prat. Okay, well, he still is, but he's not really bad anymore."

Her friends were amused. 

She was very unhappy.

*****

They patrolled together.

He stayed the proper distance away from her and they talked politely about their classes.

Last year he would have flirted back.

She returned to her room and threw a book against the wall.

*****

"Have you given up on her or something?" Sirius grumbled, seated next to James on the couch.

Across the room, Lily kept looking over at them, then looking away.

James smirked. "Of course not. But the other way wasn't working."

"it only took you a year and a half to figure it out," Sirius grumbled. Then he sighed. "Look, James, I need a favor. Could you not go out with her until after the year is over?"

James frowned at him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"No."

Sirius scowled. "Well. Can I borrow ten Galleons then?"

*****

After three months of waiting for him to ask her out, Lily gave up and walked up to him after class one day. "James," she said.

He looked away from his friends. "Hi Lily." He started walking away with them. "Bye Lily."

"Wait a minute, I need to talk to you."

His friends exchanged looks that Lily didn't even want to understand.

James glanced at his watch. "I've got a couple minutes, I guess."

"Alone," she added when the other three didn't look like they were going anywhere.

James frowned, shrugging his shoulders. "I'll see you after practice," he said.

"Bye, Jimmy," said Sirius, looking very grumpy. Remus didn't look too pleased either. 

Peter was thrilled. "Bye! Have fun!"

James looked at her, frowning a little. "Yes?"

She felt a blush coming, and felt ridiculous. "Are you... I mean, do you..." She tried to ask him out. It didn't work. "Oh, never mind," she muttered, and turned around to walk away.

His hand touched her shoulder and when she turned around, his lips were twitching. "Just say it."

"I hate you?"

He raised an eyebrow and stuck his hands in his pockets, having the nerve to tap his foot a little, as though impatient.

"I really do."

He kept looking at her.

She knew her face was bright red. "Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?"

He didn't answer for a moment. He was clearly fighting a smirk. "Do _I_ want to go to Hogsmeade with _you_? This weekend?" he said it a lot louder. A few people looked over, some looking amused, other surprised.

She crossed her arms, very uncomfortable. "Simple question with a yes or no answer."

He tilted his head. "Gee... Can I have a year or so to think about it?"

She suddenly remembered why she didn't like him and decided she was going to go bury herself in her pillows and try to forget about this humiliation. "Forget it," she said, and turned to walk away.

He laughed and caught her arm, stopping her. "Sorry. I couldn't help it. I'd be _delighted_ to go to Hogsmeade with you."

"All right," she said. "Good."

They were quiet.

"What, no kiss to seal the bargain?" he asked, still trying not to grin and doing a very poor job of it.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't push it."

She walked away and went and found her friends. 

Then she grinned like an idiot.

*****

He walked away and found his friends, grinning like an idiot as well.

"Dang it!" Sirius groaned when he saw his face.

Remus sighed heavily.

Peter held his hand out. "I win!"

*****

Of course, the boy and the girl went out and had a great time.

They fell in love and smooched a bit, and went out a few more times. 

And eventually they got married and had a kid, and life was pretty darn cozy for the couple.

The End. (Of the Beginning.)

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